Saturday, December 9, 2017

Canada delays fighter jet purchase

One step forward, three steps back. The Globe and Mail is reporting that "Canada is scrapping a plan to buy 18 Boeing Co Super Hornet fighter jets amid a deepening dispute with the U.S. aerospace company, three sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
Instead, the Liberal government will announce next week it intends to acquire a used fleet of older Australia F-18 jets, the same kind of plane Canada currently operates, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation."

Trudeau wants Boeing to drop it's lawsuit against Bombardier. Instead, Trudeau should be dropping Bombardier and lobbying Boeing to take it over. Instead of moving forward with Boeing the Trudeau government is seriously considering buying 40 year old F-18s from Australia because they are so similar to Canada's CF-18. That's because they're both old and need to be replaced. The thing is, Australia's old F-18s are still made by Boeing.

Buying old jets made by Boeing is better than buying new overpriced jets that don't work by Lockheed Martin but it certainly isn't as good as buying new jets from Boeing. Australia just bought 24 Super Hornets as an interim fleet so we are buying Australia's old fleet. "Boeing says its commercial and defense operations in Canada support more than 17,000 Canadian jobs." Exactly. Not only is Boeing a much more stable and profitable company than Lockheed Martin, but they also create jobs in Canada. Good jobs.

Boeing has responded to the rumor by stating that “We have read reports that the Government of Canada is choosing to purchase used F/A-18 Classic Hornets from the Royal Australian Air Force in lieu of new Super Hornet fighter jets.
The Boeing Company respects the Canadian government’s decision and applauds the government’s continued use of a two engine fighter solution, which is a critical part of their northern Arctic border defense, NORAD cooperation, and coast to coast to coast security."

Boeing's old jets work in the Canadian arctic. Lockheed Martin's new jets don't. Boeing goes on to say "Although we will not have the opportunity to grow our supply base, industrial partnerships and jobs in Canada the way we would if Canada purchased new Super Hornets, we will continue to look to find productive ways to work together in the future. Boeing is fortunate to have an outstanding 100 years of partnership with Canada, which had culminated in our $4B annual economic impact in Canada, and we look forward to partnering for the next 100 years."
Boeing is stable. They have a legitimate concern with Bombardier and should take over that embattled company once and for all. We need to see that for what it is.